An official Cleveland Beer Week event, the All Hail the Ale Night Ride is held in tribute to the special place hopped beverages hold in the hearts of many bicyclists, and the beer theme is carried throughout all aspects of the event:

Decorate yourself or your bike in a beer-inspired way. At the 2011 ride, almost every beer made by Great Lakes Brewing Company was represented in costume, and over 40 different beers were celebrated by riders. While costumes are not required, they are highly encouraged and a special prize will be awarded for Best Costume. Everyone in costume will be entered to win additional prizes donated by Century Cycles, the Winking Lizard and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

Pedal your bicycle with a crowd of fellow bike-and-beer lovers on a 13-mile nighttime bicycle ride on the Towpath Trail. It will roll out at 7:30 p.m. However, plan to arrive earlier to admire your fellow rider’s beer-inspired garb, take a spin on the Blender Bike, and enjoy the pre-ride festivities.

At the ride’s halfway point, enjoy Oktoberfest-themed snacks – pretzels, sausages, cheeses and other salty delicacies – to fuel the ride back to the Winking Lizard Tavern and make you REALLY thirsty for some good beer.

After the ride, Night Riders are invited to the Winking Lizard Tavern in Peninsula for the tapping of a special beer provided especially for the event by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, one of the pioneers of the craft beer movement in America. Not to be a buzzkill, but there will be no beer (except root beer) allowed or distributed on the Night Ride until the tapping.

The All Hail the Ale Night Ride is free and no pre-registration is required. However, bring a few extra bucks, because the event wants to further celebrate Cleveland Beer Week by supporting its charity, the Malone Scholarship Fund. Cash donations will be collected pre-ride and post-tapping.

Century Cycles is also donating a bicycle to the silent auction to benefit the Malone Scholarship Fund at BREWzilla, the party that culminates Cleveland Beer Week. For a chance to bid on the bicycle and other auction items donated by local breweries and companies (plus enjoy more amazing beer), attend BREWzilla on October 27. Tickets and info are at www.clevelandbeerweek.org.

In 2010, Century Cycles conducted an online survey to ask Northeast Ohio bicyclists which style of beer they prefer after a bike ride. The overwhelming favorite among the 114 respondents was Ale/Pale Ale/IPA, which garnered 44% of the votes. That was followed by Wheat/Belgian (21%), Porter/Stout (18%), Light Beer (10%), and Lager (7%).

While the Night Ride is FREE and requires no advanced registration, Night Riders must sign a waiver before participating and are responsible for the purchase of their own beer and food at the Winking Lizard. This ride is at night, in the dark woods on an un-lit trail. That is why bicycle lights and helmets are REQUIRED. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult; young adults under 21 should ignore all the excitement about the beer tapping. Finally, make sure those beer costumes don’t hang or catch in a bicycle’s spokes or chain (falling off your bike tends to ruin the fun) and that you can still wear your bike helmet in costume.

Tracey Bradnan

Tracey Bradnan does marketing and events for Century Cycles bicycle stores.